Mid-Week Joy Report

I've had a great week!

This is the busiest time of the year for me - at least, I think it is. My Saturdays are full every week for months. And a lot of my Fridays are travel days.

I love being busy! So I love this time of year.

Add to that... the weather has been warmer this week... the robins have been hanging out in our yard, and the daffodils are blooming.

Yes, it's been a great week!

I led a VBS workshop on Saturday - which meant I was also gone on Friday (to set up). And I was gone much of Thursday and Monday, too. So it's AMAZING that I've been able to keep up with the Daily Marker's 30-Day Coloring Challenge.

Oh, and did I mention - I've also made 10 cards this week.

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For my "50 Truths Worth Knowing" Challenge I read chapter 10 of the book. Anndee spoke of her time as a young teacher and the 28 students in her class. She had aspirations of teaching them to love poetry and to engage their creativity. They had other ideas.

These students came from rough backgrounds. Gunfire, fear, hunger, and sadness were much too prevalent in their lives. They had little desire for poetry.

Anndee must have felt like she had failed, since her lofty dreams did not materialize for this group of students.

Then she attended their final performance - where they were to read their poems to a group of parents, teachers, and peers. And waited anxiously, wondering what would happen. She feared it would dissolve into a nightmare of sorts.

Instead, she saw a student's face light up when the audience applauded his poem.  She heard one student's poem that declared the ocean is "a joy of salty tears" and she heard another student say she had learned to say thank you after every poem.

As each student read his/her poem, Anndee whispered "thank you" and in exchange she was given the poem - the paper creased from nervous hands, but a precious gift, for sure.

Here is the card I created as inspired by this story:

Thanks for stopping by my blog today!

Quote: Taylored Expressions Make the Grade stamped with Gina K Onyx Black Ink
Papers: Recollections Black and Staples Ivory Cardstock and DP from my scrap file
Border Punch: EK Success
Embellishments: Eyelet Outlet Brad and Simple Stories Say Cheese II Enamel Dots